The Best Part of Dying
by Cass the Curse
Summary: Haru is stricken with a not so customary illness, will Yuki be there to comfort him? --INCOMPLETE-- also the rating may change but it's currently right... All the Souma's are sickly but it's usually Yuki. Thought it'd be good to flip the tables
1. Uno

--Quick Note From the Yama-Kun--  
  
I DO NOT OWN FRUITS BASKET OR THE CHARACTERS MENTIONED. They are copyright their rightful owners.  
  
The Best Part of Dying  
  
--written by Yama-kun  
  
Let me know that you hear me  
  
Let me know your touch  
  
Let me know that you love me  
  
And let that be enough  
  
Chapter One  
  
The clear morning sky illuminated the Souma grounds, basking all of the many acres of land in it's pale light. Reaching into the darkest of windows, casting a shimmer onto a birdbath where a few swallows perched singing peacefully to each other. All of the Souma's lived on the residence, of course with how expanse the grounds were it wasn't like they ever had to see eachother and lets face it. Their were a few members of the family that nobody really enjoyed running into. Hatsuharu leaned against the kitchen table spooning another mouthful of cereal into his mouth, white hair fell limply into his dark grey eyes. He frowned trying to blow it away without spraying milk all over the place or having to remove his hand from the spoon. He was ravished, it felt like no matter how much he ate he couldn't fulfill himself. A loud crash came from the back of the house, Haru blinked tossing a glance over his shoulder into the dark hallway that lay behind him. He wasn't going to investigate that was for sure. It was probably Akito having another of his fits. Atleast he wasn't a victim of it, although it really bothered him knowing the pain he'd caused Yuki. Not to mention sweet innocent Kisa. Shaking his head so that once more his hair fell into his eyes he slammed down his spoon. Another banging sounded followed quickly by the slamming of a door.   
  
A moment later Hatori Souma entered the room and sat tiredly down at the table across from Haru.  
  
"What are you doing at the main house?" He questioned the bull. Haru blinked several times chewing at the cereal in his mouth and then nodded towards the bowl laying before him.  
  
"We were out of cereal." He informed Hari with a shrug. Hatori smirked weakly gazing off blankly in the direction he'd come. Haru's curiousity perked up at this, he tilted the bowl to his mouth draining the milk and bits of cereal. Wiping his mouth on a red napkin he too glanced towards the hallway.  
  
"What was that?" Hatsuharu asked as he rose from his chair placing the bowl in the sink. He jerked on the hot water letting it overfill his black ceramic cereal bowl before turning to look at Hari again. The Dragon however was not looking at Hatsuharu, he'd gone into his own place. Annoyance bit at the back of his brain but he swallowed it away and cleared his throat only to repeat himself.  
  
"What was that Hatori?"  
  
This time Hatori did raise his vision to Haru, or rather what was left of his vision. Poor Tori-san.   
  
"Akito's not doing so well, I don't know if it's going to turn out." Hatori informed Haru wearily and pointed at the milk.  
  
"Would you give me that?"  
  
Raising an eyebrow he grabbed the milk off the counter and set it on the table in front of Hatori who promptly raised it to his lips and gulped back half the carton. Haru stared at him in mild shock stuttering oddly for words. It was so unlike him but there was no time to talk about that because now Hatori was putting the remainder of the milk in the refrigerator and stalking back off.  
  
"Hatori! Wait a second!"  
  
Haru called after him finally managing to get over his suprise. Hari paused in the hallway turning to look at Hatsuharu.  
  
"You never told me what the banging was."  
  
Hatori sighed brushing a bit of lint off his white overcoat before bothering to explain.  
  
"Well, would you be happy if you were dying Hatsuharu?"  
  
With those words Hatori disappeared into the hallway again, a moment later there were more banging sounds. What was Akito doing anyways? They really should just get him a punching bag. Haru bit his tongue at the thoughts that were infiltrating his brain. He shouldn't think such horrible things of Akito, Akito carried the curse for all of them. But...still. Akito had hurt Yuki, he couldn't help but feel a strong dislike towards the young man. Wincing he wandered out of the kitchen onto the grounds. The swallows still perched peacefully on their birdbath singing as though they couldn't even hear the ruckus from inside the building. They were Akito's birds though, surely they'd learned to cope with him. A light sing-song voice was caught in the gentle fall breeze, Haru paused listening closely for a moment before the words became clear.  
  
"The birds and the bees are singing mo-mi-ji."  
  
Haru quirked an eyebrow and looked around suspiciously. Where was that little rabbit hiding? He was always singing that stupid song. Honestly, who wrote a song about themselves anyways?   
  
"Whats wrong with you Haru-kun?" Momiji asked characteristically popping out of nowhere onto Haru's shoulder, he was wearing his school girl uniform. Haru had defended his right to wear it before but right now everything seemed to be getting on his nerves. If he wasn't careful he was going to wind up turned black for no good reason.  
  
"Nothing. Don't call me kun. Let's just go, okay?" Haru ordered pushing his fists into the pockets of his black school uniform. Momiji fell into step beside him still humming that goofy song under his breath soon his humming broke into singing again. Haru sighed trying his best to ignore it but it wasn't working.  
  
"Okay Hatsuharu, whats wrong?" Momiji demanded to know stopping in mid-step and grabbing Haru's arm to hold him back. Haru pulled his arm away pushing Momiji to the ground. A sneer graced his handsome face twisting the graceful features into something else entirely.  
  
"Nothing is wrong, stop singing that god damned song about yourself. I would like to get to school in peace and quiet without you annoying me every step of the way. Mind your own business Momiji kun."   
  
Haru demanded him shaking him angrily. Momiji gripped his hand pulling it off of his top.  
  
"Haru snap out of it."  
  
And surprisingly enough he did holding a weary hand to his brow, he felt weak. Like he'd just lifted weights, or a small boy perhaps.  
  
"God, I'm tired."  
  
Momiji sighed hopelessly shaking his head. But he didn't sing (or hum) the whole way to school. It was customary for Haru to have a fit of weakness after he'd gone black, even if it was only for a very short time that he'd been black. But those fits only lasted for a few minutes or an hour at the most. They most definetely did not last for hours on end. Which was why Haru was beginning to doubt that this was a normal way for him to be feeling. The last time he'd felt this weak was when he'd fought Kyo-kun for two hours straight. Gure-sans house had been a mess afterwards and he hadn't known why until Kyo started at him again. Well needless to say he'd gone black once more...all in all that fight had gone for atleast 3 hours. He'd been weak the entire day. But honestly he couldn't have done anything of that sort when it was just Momiji as his adversary.  
  
He lay his head down on his arms atop the cold school desk burying his face in the warmth of his uniform. His necklace dangled around his neck loose and unbinding but he would've sworn it was choking him; suddenly his clothes felt heavy. Every muscle in his body was stiff and aching. He winced as shots of pain tore through his stomach. There was no way he could go through a whole day like this. The teacher continued to rant on about history and he slipped into his mind. The classroom faded to black, nobody thought anything of it. Students often fell asleep in history. In fact nobody even thought anything of it when the bell rung and Haru continued to sit in his chair back shaking in timid pain.  
  
Nobody except Momiji, who was concerned because the way he was shaking resembled crying. He'd never seen Haru cry before but certainly he did on occasion. I mean everybody did didn't they? Momiji waited until the other students had filed out of the room heading off to their lockers ready to go home before walking up beside Hatsuharu. He placed a small hand on the other boys shoulder and shook him softly.  
  
"Haru?"  
  
The teacher continued to erase the board not even pausing to look at the two remaining students in her classroom. Haru didn't stir, Momiji frowned in worry shaking roughly now.  
  
"Haru wake up. Wake up!"  
  
Finally the teacher turned her back away from the Souma's and stared at Momiji unblinkingly.   
  
"Is everything allright Momiji?" She questioned. He couldn't help but note the utter lack of concern in her voice. He refused to reply to her question running out of the room and down the hallway. He burst into the office grabbing the phone off the faculty desk and punched in the number to the main house. A tired Hatori picked up the phone.  
  
"Souma residence." He repeated into the receiver, Momiji suspected he'd woken Hatori and was about to apologize when he remembered what he was calling for.  
  
"Hatori, it's Haru." Was all he said, it was all he had to say Hatori understood immediately. You could almost hear the worry in his voice.  
  
"I'll be there as soon as I can." The rabbit sat down the phone looking at the other people in the office for a split second before blurting out a quick I'm sorry and hurrying back to the classroom where he struggled to wake Haru once more. Haru stirred tiredly blinking his grey eyes opened. Momiji sighed in relief wrapping an arm around the taller boys waist and pulling him to his feet.  
  
"Hatori's coming, lets go outside." Haru nodded leaning heavily against the small blonde boy. Together they stumbled out of the room and then out of the school. As soon as they'd gotten outside Haru collapsed on the curb sitting fragilely with his head hung low. Pain darted up his spine. Momiji bounced on the balls of his feet in worry looking around eagerly awaiting Hatori's black car. It arrived soon after; Hatori jumped out and hurried towards the two Freshman.  
  
"What happened?" He asked Momiji quickly. Momiji frowned, he didn't know what to say to Tori-san...he had no idea what had happened to Haru.  
  
"Nevermind. Help me get him into the car." Haru groaned pushing away their hands and forced himself to his feet.  
  
"I can do it myself." He growled ambling towards the car. He made it halfway before collapsing to his knees his face in his hands.  
  
"What is wrong with me?" Haru questioned aggravated with his own weakness. Hatori shook his head walking over and lifting Haru into his arms. Momiji hurried to open the back door for Hari who placed him gently on the leather fabric. Reflexively Hatsuharu curled sideways, away from Hatori who'd climbed into the front seat and Momiji who rode shotgun. He put a pained hand to his temple pressing his fingers to his smooth ivory skin. His head felt like it was going to explode, if only he could just pass out again. That would be a bittersweet release. Then he got his wish. The rumbling of the ground beneath Hatori's car disappeared once more replaced with the blankness of his own mind. 


	2. Dos

Chapter Two  
  
He wasn't comfortable here, Yuki Souma did not belong at the main house. He wished to god that Hatori had brought Haru somewhere else. Or perhaps that he didn't feel so inclined to check on him. It wasn't that Yuki had to worry about Akito or anything. The older boy had been bedridden for the last two weeks, his condition was steadily worsening. Hatori said it would come soon. The problem was all the memories Souma Grounds threw at him everytime he walked into the gate. He swept silvery strands of hair away from his eyes standing in the entrance way for a good five minutes before he could convince himself to go inside. He had to keep reminding himself that Hatsuharu had sat with him when he'd been ill. This was no different. Haru deserved the same treatment. With a sigh he adjusted his collar and started up the path to Souma house.  
  
The birdbath was unoccupied today, it was really quite the surprise to see it so empty. But then again Akito wasn't out to feed them. Why would they come? He shuffled slowly up to the door pulling it open hesitantly and stepping into the building. He tried to force his mind away from the cruel words Akito had said, the way he always had to remind him.  
  
"Remember that room?" Yuki blinked away Akito's voice stepping into a hallway and wandering to the guest room. Haru lay in the bed curled on his side. His face towards the wall, Hatori sat in the corner of the room bent over a desk. He was writing anxiously on a pad of pale blue paper. When Yuki entered he looked up quickly before continuing his writing.  
  
"Thought we might see you, how've you been Yuki?" Hari asked never looking away from his paper. Yuki thought for a moment pulling a chair up beside Haru's bed before replying.  
  
"I've been good." He replied honestly, and it was true he really had been. Student president wasn' t so bad at all, everything was going pretty smoothly. Until this. He sat down leaning back against his chair and looked at Haru. His hair was always so white. Perfectly so, the purest of colors he'd ever seen. There was nobody with hair like Hatsuharu, there was nobody like Haru plain and simple actually. He was such a strange boy. Hatsuharu with his inutterably deep way of loving, the way his eyes always softened every time Yuki came into the room and who else could pull Haru from his blackness as well as Yuki could? Nobody. Nobody at all. But Yuki wasn't about to admit such a thing to himself.  
  
"I've been good, but how is he?"  
  
Yuki asked Hari nodding towards Haru. Hatori lifted his eyes from the paper again removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes wearily.  
  
"The same. Steady, he hasn't improved...but he hasn't worsened either. It's only been a day, these things take time Yuki." Hatori explained calmly, but even Yuki could see the concern in his eyes.  
  
"He'll be allright?" Yuki asked tensely, he felt like his stomach had jumped into his throat. Hatori rose from his chair and put a hand on Yuki's shoulder.  
  
"Hatsuharu will be fine." He assured the young boy before turning around and opening the door, "I trust you can keep an eye on him for a few minutes? I have other people to attend to."  
  
Yuki winced, other people. He nodded weakly refusing to look at Hari, Hatori paused in the doorway.  
  
"Yuki, I'm sorry about this. It's hard for me to leave the house when Akito is ill. Haru had to stay here." He explained noticing how obviously uncomfortable Yuki was.  
  
"I understand." Yuki breathed. Hatori nodded and left the room closing the door behind him. The room quickly became silent, the only sound was the ragged breathing of Haru. There were no birds singing or bugs crying, it was just quiet. Eerily so. Yuki leaned forward on the bed laying his head on the matress on top of his arms staring blankly at Haru's back. He was covered with a thick black blanket that matched incredulously with his hair. Yuki didn't want to admit to himself how beautiful he was, the elegant thin form of Hatsuharu. Yet he knew as well as everyone else that being thin did not make you weak. The Souma's were evidence of that statement. With the proper training they were almost all martial experts.  
  
"Wake up Haru." Yuki pleaded placing a fragile hand on the other boys forehead. He was burning up and clammy, Yuki sighed trailing his hand lazily away from Haru's forehead. Over his cheek, brushing against the soft pieces of white and black hair, gently scraping the pale surface of his neck. Finally Yuki shook his head forcing himself back into his chair. He put his head in his hands fighting to keep himself under control. This was too much to handle. All these feelings at once, the memories, the fear, the confusion, and the love. How could he feel this all at once without breaking down?   
  
"Yuki?" The voice was weak tired, unused and yet unmistakable.  
  
"Haru? Your awake." Yuki realized sitting up straighter in his chair to look at Hatsuharu. Haru smiled weakly stretching out a slow hand to brush the hair away from Yuki's eyes. He retracted his hand tiredly rolling onto his back to stare at the ceiling.  
  
"I should go get Hatori--" Yuki suggested beginning to stand from his chair. Haru gave a weary shake of his head.  
  
"Don't. Just stay." He requested, Yuki nodded dropping back quickly into his chair.  
  
"Hatori will come soon enough." Haru pointed out. He was right there, Hari had just gone to check on Akito. He wouldn't be gone too long assuming all was going well enough.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Yuki asked concernedly. Haru shrugged lightly still staring up at the ceiling as though it were the most fascinating thing in the world.  
  
"Like I've just been hit by a runaway train and then stomped on by the worlds fattest woman, but other then that good." Haru jested turning his head to look at Yuki. "You came to visit me? Why?" Haru asked curiously.   
  
"Well-" Yuki started suddenly realizing he had no way to finish this statement. He staggered slightly before pushing out "you sat with me didn't you?" Some Prince he was. He couldn't even make a decent sentence. Haru blinked that set of dark grey eyes, currently bloodshot and surrounded by red. He looked horrible and yet...so beautiful all the same.  
  
"So your just repaying me?" Haru realized with a sigh rolling back to face the wall once more. Yuki felt his mouth drop open, at the same time as he started to apologize the door opened and Hatori stepped back into the room. Haru rolled over to look at him, Hatori's face filled with relief.  
  
"Ah, your awake Hatsuharu. Good. Because I've got some medicine I need you to take."  
  
Haru groaned. Obediantly popping a pill into his mouth and swallowing it on a gulp of water. Mumbling something that Yuki seriously doubted Hatori wanted to hear Haru drifted back to sleep. Yuki glanced at Hatori curiously for a moment before bothering to ask.  
  
"Sleeping pills?"  
  
"A sedative." He explained simply, Yuki nodded slightly laying his head back down on the mattress again.  
  
"Tohru didn't want to come?" Hari asked as he sat back down in front of his pad of paper.  
  
"She's out with Kyo." He informed Hatori with a sigh. Hari nodded glancing sideways at the sleeping bull.  
  
"I see. Well you've always got Hatsuharu." Tori-san reminded him. Yuki blinked through his set of violet eyes standing up from his chair.   
  
"I don't know what your talking about, I've got to get back. I'll come again." Yuki stated walking out of the room, he closed the door silently behind him. Hatori stared at Haru for a moment, with a sigh he stood up taking the boys arm. He rolled up the sleeve and injected treatment into his pale flesh.  
  
"All things in time Hatsuharu." He comforted the sleeping boy touching his cheek tenderly. After this he returned to his pad of paper, jotting observations on his condition. 


	3. Tres

Chapter Three  
  
Haru's condition was changing steadily for the better, his grey eyes were no longer clouded with red. His naturally pale skin had stopped being white and had started to get back a slight tinge to it. He didn't look like he was dying anymore. The same could not be said for Akito. Hatori spent less and less time with Hatsuharu, and more and more time tending to Akito as he always had done. It was easy to see that Akito needed the attention more than Haru did. He took his pills every day, and they were helping immensely.  
  
Yuki Souma had not visited again...yet.  
  
"Hatori?" Haru asked as the doctor poured an assortment of pills into his hands. A rainbow of capsules, a few of which he knew. There were a couple vitamins, a pain killer, and then probably antidotes of some sort. He couldn't be sure, but Hatori always knew what was best.  
  
"Yes?" Hari answered looking closely at the pills in his palm. He glanced up briefly at Haru and then filled a glass with water and walked to his bedside.  
  
"Who changed me?" Haru questioned curiously looking down at the clothes he was currently swathed in. A long sleeved white nightshirt and a pair of matching pants. He had been wearing his school uniform when he'd blacked out. Somebody had to have changed him.  
  
"Uh-" Hatori started awkwardly pausing at his bedside. "I did." He said with a blink pushing the pills into Haru's extended fist and then handing him the glass.  
  
"Take those and then set the glass on the endtable. You can reach it can't you?" Hatori asked pointing towards a small table at the end of Haru's bed. The bull nodded throwing the pills into his mouth. Hatori didn't linger, he turned and quickly left to tend to Akito again. It was a full time job being the Souma family doctor. Haru gulped down the rest of the water and wiped his mouth on the edge of his sleeve. White sleeve no less. Hatori had changed him? That was a bit disturbing. He wrinkled his nose at the thought propping himself up against the pillow, his eyes trailed off to a window staring out onto Souma grounds. Nobody but Souma's stepped foot onto the expanse land. Nobody except Tohru Honda.   
  
He smirked at the thought of the brown haired perpetually perky girl. He didn't imagine that if he had been in her position he would do what she'd done. He was in fact pretty sure that he would've ran home and never looked at a Souma in the face again. Seeing Kyo's original form had to have been pretty damn disturbing. He leaned forward setting the glass on the endtable and then reclined back against the bed with his arms behind his head.  
  
His mind wandered quickly back to the violet eyed Yuki, some would say he had a one-track mind. They were right too. Haru did have a one-track mind that simply replayed Yuki's name over and over again through the day. His voice was always repeating in Haru's head; when he blinked he saw his coy smile, felt his tender touch from that first visit. When Yuki had thought he was sleeping. Dear Yuki. Haru sighed deeply pushing a hand stressfully through the snow white hair on the top of his head.  
  
"Pointless."  
  
He muttered quietly to himself. And he knew it was true. Yuki could never feel the same way about him. Would probably never even begin to understand just how deep Haru's feelings went. There was a quiet timid knock at the door and Haru perked up. Could that be Yuki? He cleared his throat before calling out,  
  
"Come in."   
  
It sounded surprisingly husky, although he hadn't tried to make it that way. The door burst open and Momiji came barreling into the room. Haru breathed a sigh of dissapointment and Momiji jumped quickly onto his bed beside him.  
  
"Haru! Are you allright, are you okay? I wanted to come earlier but Tori told me that I would just stress you out. He told me I had to wait. So I did wait! And Haru- whats wrong?"   
  
The rabbit trailed off, talking in his usual excited manner. Haru had only ever heard Momiji serious maybe once or twice, and that as when he was discussing his family. This was something none of them did often. Speaking of their parents was not something Souma's did...at all.  
  
"Nothing, I just thought-"  
  
Momiji cut him off continuing his speech,  
  
"You thought I was Yuki? Well I'm not. But I brought your work for you, Tori said you would want it. Do you want it?"  
  
Haru clamped a hand over the blondes mouth breathing deeply. Sometimes Momiji's manner overwhelmed him.   
  
"Yes. I will take the work. But I'm tired Momiji, so would you mind coming back another time? I'll be out soon I'm sure."   
  
Haru explained slowly, hesitantly removing his hand. Momiji nodded dropping a satchel of books into Haru's lap. He groaned at the weight pushing the books away and off the bed where they hit with a loud bang. Momiji startled jumping and making a loud squeak.  
  
"Sorry." Hatsuharu apologized quickly.  
  
"Oh it's allright, I'll see you later. Okay? Get better!"   
  
Momiji called pleasantly as he skipped out of the room closing the door with a soft click behind him. Haru shook his head after Momiji was gone, he said nothing just went back to staring relaxedly out the window until he realized he honestly was tired. Momiji runins tended to do that to him. 


End file.
